It is common practice to use colored light effects to accompany the playing of music. This is particularly true in the case of modern music, in which case the light and visual effects may be quite complex. However, such effects are usually carried out by an operator who is located away from the stage and usually has very little to do with the tempo, tone, or mood of the music. Attempts have been made in the past to generate the visual effects closer to the musicians who play it, as for instance, by controlling the light effects from the playing of a piano or by relating the effects to an electronic organ of some kind. However, these light effects fail to satisfy the requirement that the producer of the effects be working on the stage and close to the musicians who produce the audio effects. Also, it has been difficult to produce varied and unusual patterns of light. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a light pattern generator which is portable and capable of being used on the stage.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a light pattern generator having the appearance of a musical instrument that can be operated by a performer as though he was playing a guitar.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of pattern generator capable of producing an infinite number of light patterns from a device which may be simply plugged into a conventional electrical outlet.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a light pattern which lends itself to imaginative operation by a performer in the same manner as a musician playing on a musical instrument.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a light pattern generator which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is capable of a long-life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance.